Border Tradition on the Line
Some New Mexico schools are struggling over whether to continue opening their doors to children from neighboring communities in Mexico.
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Clinton’s Educational Initiatives
A close-up look at the rhetoric and reality surrounding President Clinton’s education initiatives.
Lessons from England
The English author and scholar compares school reform efforts in his country with those in the United States.
Race, Power, and Funding
A look at the long history of unequal funding for schools that serve African-Americans.
Black Teachers on Teaching
Excerpts from Michele Foster’s new book, including comments from five African-American educators.
More is Not Better
An examination of the conflict between depth and breadth in school curriculum.
How Society Short-Changes Young Children
Preschools and elementary schools are forced to make do with fewer resources than schools that serve older kids.
The New NEA: Reinventing Teacher Unions for a New Era
Excerpts from a speech by NEA President Bob Chase
Helping Students Critique Miss Saigon’s Stereotypes
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Facts on the Global Sweatshop
Some basic definitions and statistics on the global exploitation of labor by large corporations.
Global Sweatshop Handout
A handout given to students by teacher Bill Bigelow describing their final project on these topics.
Global Sweatshop Resources
A collection of references, contact addresses, and World Wide Web listings for more information on global sweatshops.
What Happened To the Golden Door?
A teacher comes to grips with the myths about immigration she learned as a child and the sometimes-brutal realities they obscured, as she considers how to teach her own students about this critical subject.
Tales Out of School
An analysis of the myths and misconceptions about public schools that pervade U.S. political rhetoric, with a special focus on the 1996 platforms of the Democratic and Republican parties.
MPS Revamps Admissions Policies for High Schools
An analysis of the Milwaukee Public Schools’ decision to let high schools give preferential admission to 8th-graders with better attendance.
To Sell or To Be Sold – Is That Really the Question?
A critique of School-to-Work programs and the implicit values they often impart about the roles that businesses and other powerful institutions play in society.A Different View on School to Work in MPS By Peter McAvoy A leader of Milwaukee’s School to Work program says an article in a previous issue of Rethinking Schools unfairly criticized the program, and offers a different perspective.
How My Schooling Taught Me Contempt for the Earth
Why is the degradation of natural environments so often interpreted in schools as”progress” or development? One teacher explores the shallow perspective on the environment the was taught as a child, and how he tries to lead his students to a fuller understanding.
City Kids, City Dreams
The authors urge urban educators to stop thinking of urban students as “problems” or “challenges.”
Civil Rights 101, Tex-Mex Style
How a high school in El Paso, Texas stood up to abuse and harassment by the US Border Patrol and won.
Nike Nearly Gets the Boot
Coverage of the controversy that arose when Nike, accused of exploiting child labor in Asia, decided to donate $500,000 to the Portland, Oregon school system.
When Things Turn Ugly
How meeting the challenges of the school day with an attitude of nurturing, not punishment,can help calm potentially disruptive conflicts between students and teachers.
Sending Kids to Market
A review of Giving Kids the Business by Alex Molnar, a book which details the commercialization of America’s schools.
Equal Opportunity and the Federal Role in Education
An in-depth look at some of the major assumptions behind calls for paring down federal school policies, and a discussion of the role the federal government should play in assuring educational equity.
Welfare ‘Reforms’ Threaten Children
A synopsis of the devastating impact that welfare “reform” could have on educational opportunities for disadvantaged children and adults.
Teaching the Whole Story
A chronicle of one elementary school’s struggles over teaching about gays and lesbians.